back to NY reality
2 days back in NY now from my NL holiday. so far so good. NY's been treating me very well. almost as though holding off on its roughness, knowing that ive just come from 10 days of holiday niceness.
the office has been very relaxed. the folks have been very welcoming. been enjoying sharing stories of the holland trip. not as animated as the dutch though, who are so far the best storytellers ive seen, what with all their great sound effects. i should be charging a fee from the dutch tourist authorities soon for spreading the word that there's more to the netherlands than its windmills, drugs and red lights. but in any case, it is quite good that the folks back here have been very welcoming (back). and that they've given me as least work and as much free time as possible while i wait for my spirit to get back here in new york. greatest benefit of which is that ive caught up on my backlog emails and ive been able to do some personal fun projects in the office. AND for the first time clear up all the clutter from my desk. wow, didnt even know i had that much table real estate.
the new york atmosphere has been quite good as well. had a nice walk with officemate julia yesterday after work to union square. and had a nice walk to union square as well this noon for my wednesday farmer's market lunch ritual. got myself a healthy oatmeal raisin scone and a nice slice of sharp manchego cheese. feels like holland again, except the cheese was terribly expensive. but the light lunch was great nonetheless, especially having it in the park where a free jazz concert was going on. felt like one of maastricht's squares. nice nice.
random new yorkers have been strangely nice as well. had a pomme frites dinner yesterday. ordered a regular sized one only to realize that i was 2 dollars short. BUT the server said not to worry about it. she just took whatever spare coins i had and gave me my fries. no questions asked. AND to make things worse/better, the 2 filipino servers at the shop upon seeing me even gave me another regular sized one with all the dips i had wanted to try. mustve been an 8 dollar value for the 2 dollars i gave them. to return the favor, i did a random act of kindness today as i dropped off some school catalogs to the store coz one of them is interested in studying graphic design but just doesnt know how and where to start. of course, they gave me another free order of fries, the canadian type this time with cheese curds and gravy. and was able to share a few stories with them as well. which was quite good coz the store wasnt as busy as normal so we we're able to have a nice kwentuhan. learned a bit about their backgrounds. like eric moved here coz he was getting "sick" of running the family supermarket and he wanted to prove that he can stand on his own 2 feet. and so. here he is frying fries and just doing that. quite a success story actually. but anyway, its nice to know that there are people here in new york. real ones who are just happy to be living. none of those office corporate robots.
starbucks has been a great rediscovery since ive been back as well. was obviously drinking gallons of coffee and cappucino in holland (aside from the beer and wine of course). and its just great being in starbucks again with a nice tall mocha and a sketchbook and laptop in hand to get the personal fun projects rolling—the major one of course is the netherlands book i want to make out of my trip. which is moving. and has been very fun to work on so far. should be done by the weekend.
new york has been quite good since ive been back. either that or ive just been reenergized by the whole time off. in any case, im not complaining.
posted by jason pacheco @ 23:25
2 comments
2 Comments:
I will dare to comment on this... Actually, I'm just gonna post a friend's recent post which is somehow related to your friend, Eric:
A CUP OF COFFEE
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to
visit their old college professor. Conversation soon turned
into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned
with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -- porcelain, plastic,
glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to
help themselves to hot coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said "If
you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving
behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want
only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and
stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."
"Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are
the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of
Life doesn't change."
"Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee
in it."
* * *
Cheers!
- leslie -
off tangent reply but still sort of related—
one of the things im sort of missing from holland is their value for coffee. sure, they have better coffee there but it's more the ritual around the coffee that i miss. here, as in the philippines, it is not uncommon to go to starbucks or whichever coffee shop and grab your coffee to go, in these silly paper cups of course. there, that's unheard of. a meal, for example, is always capped with coffee or tea and a great deal of conversation between family or friends. plus their coffee comes in real porcelain mugs so it has that sense of "importance" that almost requires you to really sit down and enjoy your coffee. it's not quite like a starbucks paper cup which you can drag along wherever and drink for yourself on the go.
must be a french influence but the dutch i notice sip their coffee a little at a time (as they do their wine and beer)—a great reflection on the way they live life. very aware of the nuances of its tastes and goodness. more appreciative of quality than quantity.
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